"If you walk into a restaurant and the hostess seating you is happy and the waiter is the same, that shows through to the customer" says David Aisenstat, The Keg's CEO. "It's a magic ingredient you can't buy." For him, happy staff equals happy customers and a healthy business.
"We've always viewed The Keg as a sanctuary for our guests, and in tough economic times, it's more important than ever they have an outstanding time," adds Dean Sockett, director of human resources at the Richmond, B.C.-based steakhouse chain, which racked up more than $400 million in sales in 2007. "We have a lot of faith in our employees and a certainty they understand what we are trying to accomplish."
What works in one restaurant works in all 105 of them. The simple goal of offering a quality meal in fun surroundings keeps staff focused, says Sockett, and that's particularly important in a workplace where so many employees are young. The Keg's managers are also especially effective at communicating goals and values because most of them have lived them. Sockett started as a waiter in 1977, and he says about 70% of The Keg's supervisors started working in the kitchen or as wait staff. The executive ranks are also full of former waiters, including the current COO, CFO and the vice-president of business development.
Getting the message out to 7,500 em-ployees takes planning, however. The Keg uses a quarterly magazine (The Kegger), social events and pre-shift meetings. Management also surveys staff three times a year to gauge their mood and ensure that managers are professional and respectful.
The feedback helps executives track individual managers' progress and larger trends. In 2002, for example, staff said that lack of benefits was a problem, and management responded by dropping the weekly work hours required to qualify to 30 from 35.
Recessions are hard on the hospitality industry, and revenues at The Keg have been flat in 2008, but management hasn't reduced benefits, staff discounts or the number of employee social events. "It's all about the people," says Aisenstat. "We'll close our doors before we start treating people second rate."